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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · ground · race · shower · content · clip · cue · rash

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. rash — a series
  5. content — the amount
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. clip — for paper
  8. ground — crushed
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cue — for pool
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. shower — rain
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. ground — the earth
  17. march — the month
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — music
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rash — hasty
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com